Maximizing 1:1s: The Untapped Leadership Opportunity for Managers

"People don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses"
- Jeff Burkhart

Let that sink in.

In 2023, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released the first ever Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-being. This clearly established the importance for employers to recognize and prioritize mental health in the workplace.

Some might wonder, what took so long?

A 2023 survey by the American Psychology Association revealed the following:

• 92% of workers said it is important that they work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological well-being
• 95% said that it is important to them that they feel respected at work
• 95% said that it is important to them to work for an organization that respects their work vs. non-work time

The numbers above clearly reveal that employees want to feel respected and cared for by their employers. For leaders, this implies that they should track success beyond the financials. It’s simply good business because we also know that happy employees are more productive.

Transform Meetings, Enhance Morale: A Secret that Every Manager Should Know

So how can leaders create happy workplaces?

Take a look at meetings within your company. The importance of meeting culture cannot be overstated – we know there is a direct connection between meetings and employee morale and job satisfaction.  

When leaders and managers consistently run successful meetings within their organization, the results are tangible and hard to ignore.  

So how do you get there?

There is one type of meeting that likely already appears on every manager’s calendar. Whether weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, one on one meetings are excellent opportunities for managers to support and build trust with their direct reports.

Boosting Engagement: The Brain's Response to Talking, Sex, and Good Food

What do all three of the above have in common? Research shows that talking about yourself triggers the same parts of the brain as sex and good food.  

In a one on one context, be intentional about your direct report’s time and make it about them. Managers should treat these meetings as an opportunity to connect, engage, and empower their team members.  

For a deep dive on one on one meetings, hear renowned organizational psychologist, Dr. Steven Rogelberg discuss his latest book, Glad We Met: The Art & Science of 1:1 Meetings.

Mastering One-on-One Meetings: 7 Essential Rules for Leaders

Here are a few basic rules to help leaders ensure they are optimizing one on one opportunities.

1. Efficiency through Structure

To keep one on one meetings focused and productive, maintain a structure. Agendas help and can keep discussions relevant, strategic, and compelling. To change things up, consider having direct reports create the agendas for their one on one meetings. This helps support engagement and ensures that topics important to them are always included.  

2. Listen Actively

As much as it may be tempting to jump in when a direct report describes a conflict, issue, or concern, avoid your natural inclination to immediately problem solve. Part of a manager’s job is to teach skills and strategies to build resilience and support professional development – this means encouraging team members to use their own insights to identify root causes and find creative solutions.

3. Be Present and Keep a Regular Schedule

Touching base with direct reports regularly promotes dialogue and trust, necessary for employees to know that their managers have their backs. These check-ins also help prevent the ‘absent manager’ trap. Unlike leaders who display overt actions like yelling or bullying, absent leaders undermine workplace dynamics and often slip under the radar.  

These types of managers also contribute to employees feeling neglected or excluded, eventually causing stress, reducing motivation, and decreasing loyalty. Over the long term, these dynamics can negatively impact overall organizational performance.  

4. Listen Openly and Holistically

As leaders, it’s important to remember that employees bring their whole selves to work. Take a broad approach and recognize that workplace performance can be impacted by factors outside of work such as family and health status. People have lives outside of their work. If they don’t, that’s another concern that should be addressed but let’s not digress.  

Given that employees have work roles and personal responsibilities that extend beyond the business, it’s important for leaders to respect the boundaries of work-life balance. One on one meetings should include discussing concerns and wins that are both personal and professional. Direct reports should guide the discussion but be receptive to hearing whatever is top of mind for them.

5. Consider Skip Level Meetings

When executed well, skip level meetings allow your direct reports to engage with senior leadership and help executives interact with the broader team. It’s especially important for leaders to touch base with employees across the organization to gather feedback, gain insight, and gauge team morale first hand. Regular skip level meetings also build rapport and help the executive team support and connect with employees across an organization’s hierarchy.

6. One Size May not Fit All

If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that humans crave social connection. Leaders take note because one on one meetings are an excellent way to enhance connection with direct reports.

The pandemic and demand for convenience have led to remote and hybrid workplaces becoming increasingly common. For managers in these environments, it is important to identify the one on one format that works best for each individual team member. Some may prefer virtual meetings while others may prefer in-person. To promote engagement and ensure every team member feels valued, be sure to ask and integrate whatever meeting format works best.  

Consider combining in-person and virtual one on ones for each team member, allowing you take full advantage of the benefits of both formats.

7. One-on-Ones are Meetings Too!

Treat one on ones like you would any other meeting in terms of preparation, focus, and follow-up. Senior leaders share that one of the obstacles they typically face is a lack of time to prepare for meetings. The pace of business is rapid, often leaving little time for anything but focusing on short term targets and milestones.

And that’s both a problem and an opportunity.  

Leaders who optimize meeting culture including their team one on ones, are primed for change. Not every meeting is productive but if leaders recognize this, eliminate what is not necessary, and focus on executing necessary meetings well, they could be the game-changers their organizations did not know they needed.

Based on leader insights and meeting science research focused on improving productivity and employee engagement, Kairos has developed a leadership toolkit. Download this actionable guide to transform your one on ones into powerful tools for enhancing engagement and achieving your business and leadership goals.